Harry saw RED, WHITE & BLUE break a woman's brain at SXSW!

At its last screening at SXSW, I checked out a film called RED, WHITE & BLUE. In the interest of full disclosure - this is a film that carries an Executive Producer Credit by Tim League, my partner in most every event I throw. That said - I've never had a problem telling Tim when something he's done didn't work. That's not the case with RED, WHITE & BLUE.
This is a very dark film. In many ways, far more disturbing than SERBIAN FILM, which I saw right after this screening of RED, WHITE & BLUE. The film is shot in a very matter of fact manner that follows a young attractive woman that is possibly on one of the saddest existences imaginable in Austin, Texas.
Now most of you know how much I love Austin. One can look at all the various statistics about the city, the places in different LISTS of best places to live... and none of that really touches just how much I love Austin. There's a really fun spirit to the city, I love that the city doesn't feel sad in the ways that so many cities in this country have become. I like the weirdness of it. The vitality of it. The types of stores, restaurants, museums, libraries, music, beer and mostly the film watching paradise that it is. What RED, WHITE & BLUE gave me was a peek at just how fucking sucky my fair city could be - if your situation was just that.
Since SXSW - I've been digesting this film. Thinking about it, a lot. In particular, the post-film Q&A was one of the most "Holy Shit, What The Fuck Is Happening, This Is A Crazy Thing Out Of GERALDO" experiences I've had in quite some time. But then, there's been a lot of little weird things happening in the lives of various friends that managed to shake my grasp of Happy Austin reality. Those are very personal stories, so I won't go into them, but frankly... RED, WHITE & BLUE kind of helped me appreciate my existence here in Austin better and realize just how amazingly lucky I am.
The lead character of the film is Erica, who was played perfectly by Amanda Fuller. The film begins rather starkly following Erica on a couple of days in her normal existence. She lives in a rather horrible room that she's given for simply picking up around the larger property and cleaning the place. We watch her go to a few bars to be picked up by strangers, fuck (rather graphically), then promptly leave. We see one guy that insists on her or him having a condom - so she just leaves. We see her picked up by a band for a gangbang. Older men, younger me, well ta do types and just club crawler types as well.
At the same time - we're beginning to know this creepy looking guy that is noticing Erica... making overtures at Erica, but that Erica seems to not be interested in, played by the fantastic Noah Taylor. Now - these are characters living a very limited existence. You don't get the sense that they go to films, watch tv, read books, have computers, celphones... anything. I refer to them as 4 wallers - they stare at their four walls, go out and drink, with the most limited of lifestyle maintaining jobs. Noah's NATE works at a Hardware Store. We know that he used to work at one before he had gone into the Army. We also learn that the CIA apparently wants to recruit Nate for his talents. We also learn that Nate used to torture animals & kill them as a kid. Nate is all kinds of fucking creepy.
Erica on the other hand, we learn less about for the majority of the film. We do know that she was abused at an impossible young age - that she has HIV, and she fucks as many men unprotected as she can in a given day, everyday. But for some odd reason... she develops a connection with NATE. They have a friendship begin to form. Maybe more, but never sex.
We also begin to follow the life of one of the guys in the Band that Erica fucked. His mother is dying of some form of cancer, she's in pain, bald - and the kind of existence that we wish didn't exist for anyone. She's sweet, loving and really sad. This is Franki, played by Marc Senter. He discovers he has HIV. Turns out one of his bandmates also has HIV - but the one bandmate that didn't fuck Erica doesn't. They begin searching clubs looking for Erica. Hitting club after club in Austin, looking and leaving. Looking and leaving. By this time, Erica & Nate sleep holding one another - and we get the idea that Erica isn't going out on the prowl - but she did go out for a drink. The band gets her and rather forcibly take her away. Nate was in the bathroom. Finds her gone. Finds a credit card and something of Erica's in the parking lot. And he's going to find Erica, because... he wasn't crazy. He really is being recruited by the CIA for the darkest most horrifying inhumane evil shit that we all wanna hope our government doesn't really do, but we all kinda believe it does.
I won't spoil the remainder of the film - it isn't happy, it is extremely violent - and there's one scene involving the bound family of one of the bandmates who unfortunately lost his credit card in the struggle. Including his young daughter (under age 8) that is rather horrifying.
The frankness, the matter-of-factness of RED, WHITE & BLUE keeps the film from ever seeming to be exploitive... it just feels oddly honest. The film didn't have walkouts - the film is absolutely captivating and I will watch it again and show to select folks I know - but I do feel it is appropriate to warn you about the film.
There was a lady at our screening. She remained seated and didn't seem to cause any disturbance that I noticed during the physical screening of RED, WHITE & BLUE - but after the film... when Tim League, director Simon Rumley, Amanda Fuller and Marc Senter took the stage. Things changed.
As the filmmakers took the stage, basking in a very strong applause - all a bit tipsy after having returned from the High Ball's refreshing refreshers during the screening. Very much a party mode. Tim started off with a nice cordial question to his Director - but before Simon could answer a woman shouts out from the audience, "Excuse me, before you get to that, I have a question and I really don't want to sit here through anymore of this than I have to. So may I'm going to ask my question, because there's something I simply must know!"
The audience was a bit taken aback, Tim had this curious whimsical look of curiousity upon his face - so he told the lady to go ahead. But I had that, "This is a fucking insane person" klaxon siren searing through my skull at this moment. The woman then explodes in a screaming, foul-mouthed, accusatory, weeping, holier-than-thou condemnation of the filmmaker's very existence that ends with, "What did you intend for an audience to get out of this experience?"
Throughout the screaming woman's display there was nervous laughter, boos and exclamations from the audience for the woman to shut up. Tim attempts to begin to answer, but the woman keeps screaming at him, he returns by screaming back at the woman - she again screams that she wants to know what the director wanted the audience to get out of the film.
Simon replies, simply, "PASSION"
The woman begins breaking down - starts screaming "FUCK YOU" at the filmmakers - Tim screams at the lady, "No, FUCK YOU LADY!" the audience begins to cheer, The Lady Begins Going Nuts - Tim tells the Theater Manager to remove the woman. She is bouncing off the walls looney - And... yeah.
It was extraordinary to watch a film RIP SOMEONE'S BRAIN OUT AND MAKE IT GO COO COO FOR COCOA PUFFS, but that's exactly what happened at the last screening of RED, WHITE & BLUE at the Alamo Drafthouse South at SXSW 2010. It was the most visceral and distubing reaction to a movie that I have ever seen. I've heard stories of movies that broke peoples' brains, but I've never actually seen one do it.
So beware. RED, WHITE & BLUE can possibly break your brain. Is your brain strong enough? Your psyche healthy enough? Because if it is, there is an extremely powerful and emotional film experience there for you to see. It is a brutal experience, but what I took from the film was the feeling of how lucky I was to not live in anyway the lives of the people on screen. I had a similar reaction to LEAVING LAS VEGAS when I first saw it. It made me appreciate my ability to have fun drinking without it becoming a death sentence.
I've spent the last 20 years in Austin, enjoying everything it has to offer without ever experiencing the trauma that this film put out there. Before it turned violent, just the way Erica, Nate and Franki lived - I'm so lucky. And that's an amazing feeling for a film to give one, an appreciation for one's own life. Like I said though, this isn't for everyone - but it is a very strong film filled with powerful performances and an engrossing story.
This was a very low budget independent film - but in particular I highly recommend it for the Festival circuit and to Video labels that handle quality hard independent films. Sadly, I don't believe there's a Distributor of Theatrical Content that would know how to handle this film. Though frankly, that is how to see it. Keep an eye out for the film at Festivals or my DVD column for your chance to break your brain. Since this was in a packed 140 seat auditorium, I'd say the odds are 1 in 140 that this film could break your brain.

like a miserable experience. I like movies like Irreversible, Antichrist and Taxedermia, but after a while it gets to be too much. It almost seems like these movies are easier to make than a genuinly sweet movie that everyone can enjoy. Sad times.

No - I think it is easier to make HANNAH MONTANA style sweet stuff. Films like this and the ones you mention sometimes result in the filmmakers going off into bouts of depression, actors have been known to have lingering problems from films of this type. To even find an actress that is willing to do what Amanda does in this film is increasingly difficult. To raise the funds to make those types of films - forget about it. These tough films are fewer and fewer as the years go by. I know - I see all of them. In fact AMERICAN HISTORY X on Blu Ray is on my desk right now - but it is surrounded by far more happy happy stuff.
<BR><BR>This and SERBIAN FILM are two exceptional works in a very difficult milieu, but they're just reviews I've been mulling over for quite some time.

"It almost seems like these movies are easier to make than a genuinly sweet movie that everyone can enjoy."<p>
I think that's very true. Grim, dark, neurotic, and depressing is a pretty low and easy target. It's not a challenge. Now, stupid, bland, and cheerful is easy, too... but a truly uplifting and quality flick is challenging.

This article raises a life long problem for me. The problem of where to draw the line between what society has informed me is taboo and what is truly profane. I have consciously avoided some films based on my knowledge of their subject. I struggle with the knowing that in some cases I have buried my head in the sand, while in others I make the choice to expand my lifeworld; choosing between subjecting my brain to traumatic imagery that can never be erased and feeling an obligation to expose myself to these realities, however obscene. I believe my reasoning is, whatever horrors a filmaker can imagine has already been surpassed by something that has actually happened in life and, therefore, part of me feels a sense of duty to at least become aware of such atrocities so that I can expand my mind to identify and resist them. So the question then becomes why we even need the film to know something as wrong. I would wager that film can be a way to frame and substantiate these horrific realities that could otherwise be overridden and ignored by humanities standard defense protocol (avoidance). Film can be a catalyst for discussion that can then in turn lead toward action, or rather, reaction. I do not think myself capable of (or more directly) brave enough to handle much of the twisted works that have been showcased in film, but I do value them for adding to the discussion, which I feel makes such work absolutely essential. This is hypocritical and cowardly of me, and I accept that. It is both my fear and hope that I will one day overcome this ambivalence and expand my framework of understanding for this truly fucked up world we are all a part of, however our brains choose to recognize or dismiss it.

That is two rough one's in a row. Must have been a crazy night. Good thing the crazy lady didn't go on to watch Serbian Film. I hope you guys are gonna stack Fantastic Fest this year as well as it sounds like SXSW was. Can't wait to come back to Austin and watch cool flix at the Alamo!

I have a beautiful young wife, a wealth of wonderful friends that would do pretty much anything for each other, a family that I love - all living in a community that is so fucking cool - all while having a pretty goddamn great life traveling the world and experiencing the best in film?
<BR><BR>Why would crazy people spouting off about a film they haven't seen bother me in the least? Sure, they tie me to that film, but they don't know me or the film. They're just people reacting to what they think the movie is - but isn't when you see the film in the proper context.
<BR><BR>Shit, Jim Kelly (awesome in ENTER THE DRAGON) was talking to Quint - and when Eric mentioned he wrote for me, Jim Kelly said, "Yeah, he's a cool dude!"
<BR><BR>Jim "Dragon" Kelly said I was a "Cool Dude"? Shiiiiiit, that's all you had to hear to have an invincible ego.

I really enjoy the ones that you've thought about for awhile in order to process them... they certainly make for an interesting read, and have ALOT more balance than the some of the "3hrs post screening I'm still drunk and this is my visceral reaction" reviews. Keep these ones coming champ.

I was thining more along the lines of something like October Sky or Stand By Me. Movies that aren't manipulative, or in the case of Hannah Montana, just dreck that isn't safe for consumption. I believe movies like that are difficult to make. You give me a camera, some editing equipment and some LSD and I'll make something that'll make you want to gouge your fucking eyes out with a rusty nail.

and literature, and music. It's how us furless monkeys cope with the crazy notion of cognizance and reasoning. <P>
It's how we evolve/adapt so quickly. We can learn about bad, bad things without having to have first hand experience. <P>
Now I want to see this movie.

...douchebags who regularly attack anyone who produces, directs, stars, writes or reviews anything that even remotely challenges or steps outside their teeny realm of what is 'alright' have nothing to do with film in general. Movies would all be the same, processed, spoon-fed pablum bullshit that we get too fucking much of from Hollywood now. I might not want to see someone fuck a baby to death, but I like that there are people who are constantly pushing the limits of traditional storytelling and still trying to do SOMETHING original. Fuck anyone who thinks different. Go watch fucking "Transformers 3" and shut the fuck up.

Great - another post Truffaut, stark nihilistic view of America via Larry Clark and Chuck Palahniuk. With a name like Red White and Blue, I'm amazed that that overrated hack Lars von Trier isn't on board. Such lame over the top ludicrously tragicomic subject matter is camp portrayed as drama for pure shock value. Is it that we are so numb that we need such outlandishness to reaffirm that we aren't sleepwalking through life: that we need a film that isn't just one more of a series of remakes of remakes ? Or is it that it is merely a case of the Emperor's New Film, when we are told that such a film is art and beauty, and to not see it as so is simply because we cannot see the avant garde value in such ? It is one thing to ask that independent movies be new and inspired - but it does not relinquish them from an obligation to be good.

How is this different from any other movie in which we're supposed to feel for a clearly irresponsible "protagonist?" Though she definitely could have been more tactful, I think the woman's question is relevant and am sorry that no answer is related here other than, "passion." Passion for what? I'm not trying to judge a movie I haven't seen, simply asking for a better reason to want to see it in the form of a more specific answer to that question. And just as a disclaimer, no, I'm not a narrow-minded idiot that has to have all the lines clearly drawn for him from A to B to C and so-forth to enjoy a movie. The fact that something doesn't follow a linear storyline means neither that the filmmaker has transcended said "tradition" nor does it mean he or she even has the skills to tell a linear story and do it well (something harder than most might believe and rarely done very well anymore). How much thought does it take to watch and understand a CIA-wanted stalker in a relationship with a sexually promiscuous woman with the HIV virus that may or may not be out to infect every stupid, unprotected male in her path? And as far as feeling lucky not to be living the same lives / life, usually, that kind of thing is a choice or series of choices, not predestined or otherwise wholly unavoidable.

Wow... Judging by your post, you must be an expert on narrow-mindedness and intolerance. It seems you've got both down to a fine art. For your sake, I hope nobody challenges your viewpoints because I doubt you could come up with a meaningful word to defend them that was longer than four letters. In any case, expecting a wholly "intelligent" conversation about a movie when so few engaged in the conversation have actually seen it is, well... unrealistic. I'd wager a guess what my participation says about me, but somehow, in my supreme narcissism, I get the feeling any number of you will line up to do that for me, and much more colorfully than I ever could. ;)

"Films like this and the ones you mention sometimes result in the filmmakers going off into bouts of depression, actors have been known to have lingering problems from films of this type."
So, why is that a good thing? It's actually a sign of intelligence if one makes, participates in or watches a movie that makes them want to slit their wrists? How so? I guess you could ask that tolerance and empathy come out of the experience, but tolerance of what - irresponsible behavior? How is that justifiable or in any way moral? How is all this even "intelligent" to begin with? And by "irresponsible behavior," I mean behavior that could directly and adversely affect oneself or another human being - i.e., giving someone the HIV virus by deliberately having unprotected sex without disclosure of contagious condition.

I think most people can experience "bad, bad things" by watching the news every night. Most intelligent people are already aware that there is a ton of evil in the world. We don't need some self-righteous filmmaker to explain it to us. And answering "Passion!" to that woman's question has to be the lamest thing ever. It's not a stroke of genius to come up with the darkest, nastiest shit possible and then film it; it's the opposite of creativity and probably the easiest way to create buzz for your movie.

I'm with that lady actually, what's the point? I'm really tired of movies where all that happens is heaping misery upon misery upon misery on people. What DID the filmmakers intend to make me feel, beyond something to the effect of "Boy howdy, sure am glad I'm not an HIV+ abuse victim". I think a lot of filmmakers have the misguided idea that showing a bunch of terrible shit happening to people achieves some kind of transcendent effect and really MEANS SOMETHING, when in fact it's more likely just a bunch of terrible shit happening to people. I know the makers of Serbian Film have said the incendiary images in that film are a metaphor for the plight of the Serbian people, but let's be real fucking honest there are plenty of other ways to convey that in a film than baby fucking and skull fucking. But hey, at least they gave some kind of half-assed reason for showing a bunch of horrible shit happening to people. What IS the reason for this movie? "Passion" is not an acceptable answer as it doesn't even make sense. You can't get passion OUT of something. Anyway I'm really burned out on this nihilist bullshit and I'd rather watch something with a dorky everyone-wins Hollywood ending than watch a bunch of sad people do terrible things to each other for no other reason than to show said terrible things on-screen. Life is too short to subject myself to this shit and come out on the other side with nothing to show except the knowledge that I "made it through the movie." Who cares. Woman with broken brain has a point.

Reasonable question with piss poor answer. But having said that. The lady could have just walked out of the screening. If you don't feel a movie such as this is a waste of the viewers time then don't watch it. I wonder if the filmmakers were just irritated by the woman to not even attempt a decent answer or if they were a bit too tipsy from the party. They could sure have tried something a bit more intelligent. i will watch this movie now. I must, to actually understand if there is a point to it after all....

"30 second sound bytes" seems to be the catchphrase for the corporate produced "news", yet it's an apt enough description for what is provided. People will always need stories rife with tragedy, it's the human condition afterall. <P>
The notion that anybody on here is worthy enough to judge the merits of another's "artistic endeavors" is appalling. <P>
That's a slippery fuckin' slope.

These are tiny, barely-financed movies being played at random festivals and generating limited buzz online. I don't know why folks on AICN are being so offended by them. I'm glad Harry is taking the time to write thought-out articles on films like this because, believe it or not, there are people out there who enjoy off-kilter and unrepentantly bleak films.

and am well-qualified to judge the merits of another's artistic endeavors. anytime anyone recommends a film, CD, etc. to anyone else, that is what they are doing. while opinions are subjective and varied, the ability to discern gold from garbage is a requirement in life. it's why i don't smoke crack - please leave CHUCK PALAHNIUK out of this

Hey harry, I'm wondering if there was anyone in the audience who captured the outburst? I was at a screening of Happiness when ppl started yelling shit at the screen & tearing up seats b4 walking out. (btw it was that bit when the father & son talk about jacking off)

I mean, it seems she probably has a mental illness - maybe something in the film opened some festering wound in her. I dunno, but I just find it hard to feel hostile or mocking toward someone who suffers from a mental illness. It's sad. Never been that big on schadenfreude.

When I feel the need to watch something uplifting and devoid of cynicism, then I reckon you can't go past a double bill of Amelie and Danny Boyle's Millions. For me, they're the perfect antidote when you're suffering from nihilism fatigue.

between here and Serbian Film talkback. For me, cinematic gore films are too involved in their own hyperrealism and fantasy to generate informed, meaningful discussion like Itgalloway was saying. I rely on good documentaries for that. You just emerge in a kind of limbic haze after watching something like Halloween or The Strangers (the first and last films of the sort I saw before sacking up and telling my friends I no longer cared to voluntarily submit to such miserable wastes of time.) Go ahead and call me a lightweight pussy all you gorehounds. I don't care. Anything under a genre that could conceivably end with the suffix -porn I know to avoid, as it is invariably something that revels in excess while trying its damndest to hide that fact. As an aside I have nothing against actual porn because it wears its absurd fantasy veneer with pride. OK I'll get off my soapbox now; it's way too slippery up here.

Was there any pre- press release in the local area for this movie? Was the context of the movie explained before the lights dimmed and the camera rolled?
I am aware of the fact that this was a strong reaction from what seems to be a person who may have had a few problems, but could the "fuck you" back and forth have been handled in a different way? I mean, were any attempts made to find out just which part of the movie caused this woman to yell such abuse? Could the movie maker not have tried to diffuse the situation...who knows just what intentions this woman might have had when she left the theatre?
The film maker has a right to defend his product, but doesn't he also have an obligation to the people who sit in the seats?
I agree that movies should challenge you, but when do you draw the line? Aren't movies escapism and aren't they also supposed to uplift you? Are we destined for more outraged movie go-ers in 2010 like this woman and the one at Sundance when Michael Winterbottom screened The Killer Inside Me? Slumdog Millionaire showed us all that you can have emotional angst that is truly affecting and yet still have an uplifting film. More like that please and less of those that just set out with the intention to disturb.

People can get angry at anything for a reason. I mean, I could just as well go into a similar, foul-mouthed fit towards 'happy stuff' like Disney tweener flicks, and 'Transformers 2'. In fact, those are about the only times I would remember screaming amidst a crowd of people : whenever stupid turd like 'Cadet Kelly' would be playing, and family and kin would gather around the television. Like ' How can everybody ELSE tolerate this fucking atrocity - as in REALLY FUCKING TOLERATE IT ?!@##?@>#<@?@//'. So, the question is not much as 'where do you draw the line', as 'HOW the hell do you draw it'. And why bother ? Reactions would occur for whatever reason. Any attempts to set limits along those lines are, at best,untenable, and steer dangerously close to censorship; much as it would all come down to the nature of the filmmaker's whole deal, really. ( Did he specifically intend to fuck up with the audience, or was he/she simply trying to put on a show ? Or was in fact producing mumblecore hack work : expecting perhaps his arty patrons to back him up at the audiences' expense - with that audience actually LOVING what is otherwise truly exploitative relationship.)</p> My diseased uncle actually HATED the Disney animated 'Beauty and the Beast' because he thought that Beast was giving Belle AIDS. Oh where, oh where do you 'draw the line', indeed. </p></p> Either people dig the work, or they don't. It really is as simple as that.</p>

Trust me when I say that I am absolutely no fan of any sickly sweet mush nor of any tripe such as Transformers 2- infact I very recently ranted at the abortion that was Clash of the Titans 2010, so I am with you there. However, those movies were just popcorn trash with multi-million $ budgets intended to shut peoples brains down for a couple of hours. The makers of Red, White and Blue probably had a budget you couldn't fry an egg on, but that still does not negate the fact that they set out with one intention- to shock the audience and get them asking questions. When they decided to do that they had to have their heads up their own arses if they thought that there would be no moral reaction to what was on show. The fact that the content was possibly not explained and a heated situation that could have turned extremely nasty was not diffused professionally I have a major issue with. I have not seen the film, but I will give it a go and make up my own mind. However, film makers should be prepared to shoulder the responsibility of what they put on screen and not just shout "fuck you" when challenged in any way. They WANTED us to ask questions and they WANTED to provoke a response, and look what happened when it did....

you have to create a talking point for your film. It really is as simple as that. Once you make your profits and get your studio support you can make whatever lowest common denominator saccharine bullshit you like. Not saying that every no-budget film should be utterly depraved (Primer showed just what you can do with fuck all money buts lots of brains) but I respect their punky aesthetic and the way they seem to enjoy wallowing in revulsion. You only get it with low budget films...two of the best i've seen lately are Deadgirl and Tony. I'm always reminded of this principles charting via budget mode of thinking by the way David Lynch went from Eraserhead (still utterly unwatchable to so many - I love it) to The Elephant Man.

as a good example of the subjectivity of opinions and why the value of an artwork is indefinable to any larger group than simply your own self, your depression antidote Amelie personally inspired me with the desire to shoot myself, or possibly go on a murder rampage around Paris. If I could lobotomise the portion of my brain that contains the memory of that film, I would.

Agree with you on the talking point issue (and Primer and Deadgirl are good movies)but look what Red White and Blue will potentially make compared to Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity. It doesn't all have to be molesting kids, cancer patients. women with HIV fucking the world and skinny bearded mentalists beating people with a baseball bat.... if you really want to make money from a low budget film just follow the rules set down by the two I have just mentioned.

--control ourselves, and I doubt any of us would react that way to ANYTHING. I love Tim League, personally, and I can totally see him getting into a "fuck you" match with someone that insane, but I'm surprised he actually did. Normally, he seems to enjoy that type of madness (almost to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't pull a William Castle and actually be in cahoots with the crazy woman to stir up publicity). Personally, I have very little patience for films whose entire purpose is to shock us with nilhilism and inhumanity. That's a whole genre unto itself in the indie film world right now. I had enough of the "torture porn" genre two or three films in, but I have seen films that pushed the theme beyond the base elements, like "Martyrs" and "Irreverseble", but I don't enjoy those types of films. That's okay. I believe in freedom of speech and creative expression and those film makers have every right to make those films. My point is this: I've seen some pretty sick shit, some of it even PRESENTED by Tim League at the Alamo, but I've never reacted that way to anything. It's just a film, and I may not like it or want to own the DVD, but I can watch it without "breaking my brain", and so can the rest of you.

You're dead right in that regard and no, these films aren't going to get a wide distribution or even make a whole lot of money beyond festivals. But I think trying to shock an audience is the natural impulse for alot of filmakers with little to no experience, no 'voice' as such, and who have taken aboard the visceral impact of the repulsive films they've seen as a youth and tried to replicate that vibe. It may seem like schoolboy stuff but many of us who grew up trying to find the sickest shit possible (and it's normally kids outside of big cities with sweet fuck all to do) yearn to have that effect on others. It's an effect you CAN achieve with little to no experience and just a notebook full of ideas. I had some films that truly disturbed me branded upon my brain (actually the film Brand Upon The Brain was one of them) and so I would borrow my Dad's shitty camera and try my hand at using that inspiration to try to warp my friends (where is reality we always see vile movies that try too hard utterly hilarious). Nekromantik (now there's a very artful nasty) gave me the idea of making a working, spunking cock and working it into a no script, no budget film called Psychodots. I did an homage to Fulci's Zombie Flesheaters by having my eye gouged out by a screwdriver (and with a fluke 3 tone howl that'd make Tuvan throat singers blush) in another. They were all merely vignettes of orchestrated violence but they are so much fun to make. I think part of the lure of starting with horror films is the fun you have making them. I'm over my "sicken me!" phase to the point of being a more balanced film fan, but I look upon my own impulsive creations with great fondness and it has prompted me to continue with short films shot in our picturesque but ultimately empty irish countryside. That all sounds a big self promoting but I assure you it's not the intent...i'm just trying to convey that you CAN enjoy all these types of films if you don't take them (or yourself) too seriously. The ones that demand to be taken too seriously tend to be the ones that split the audience. Gaspar Noe's work is about the best example of this kind of trash/treasure I can think of. I must thank the film Fight For Your Life especially for reaffirming my faith in the need for utterly wrong films to help appreciate the more profound ones a little bit more, and vice versa.

Of course, I wasn't there, but from reading the piece, all I get is the impression that this woman was angry, not crazy. Note that, as written in the piece, she didn't start yelling "Fuck you", until she got that insulting answer from League. I've seen a couple of films (Andy Warhol's "Bad" comes to mind) that made me want to scream a couple of "fuck you's" to somebody.
Something like Irreversible is in a different class altogether. It's grim as hell, but to a purpose. I didn't get the sense the filmmaker was just troweling stuff on the characters out of sadism.

I never understood that. In the interest of staying civil they could always leave but I think any film fan worth their salt should stick through til the end. Then put your point across in a well reasoned way...you can't take issue with a person because they see the world differently. Live and let live. Although yeah I do feel a bit sorry for the woman but only because I can imagine her being ridiculed by an audience of her peers for stating her beliefs (albeit not in the best way), and it was a valid question.

When filmakers find their inspiration at the bottom of a vomit bag they have to expect the possible outcome of showing the film and the publics reaction.
The story line sounds pretty rough and the lady may or may not have known what to expect going in..I am not a big fan of this type of cinema but I know the difference between film and reality, some can't distingish between the two. Directors should keep in mind at all times the power of cinema and the effect it has on the human psyche..This is what makes or breaks the sucessful film..If this women went through anything like what was portreyed on screen than my sympathy is with her not the panel who had to take her "abuse".. I find it pretty amazing that the film world needs to dig at the bottom of the dung pile to feed the hungry masses
who devour the shit that is being pumped out as cinema these days..
If the public is hungry for shit than that's what will keep being made to feed them..
I want to say that I've seen some pretty sick and twisted shit in my
time and while most of it is made for shock value only.,there are a few films that have a message to relate..It's just that the public seems to really eat this shit up now a days and then wonders why the world is going to hell in a handbasket...Well it's not to tuff to figure out is it?
Before I get ripped for this opinion I want to state that I don't care much for the torture porn and shock for the sole purpose of "making the audience want to vomit" type films..
I am a film lover and thats what brought me to this site..I also believe that film should be treated as art and shown un-censored and un-cut.
I just don't get the love for this type of stuff as it for the most part is not entertaining it is mostly repelling..Kind of like the lookie lou's at an accident..It's
so repellant but they can't not look away..

What does it say about the state of independent film and/or philosophy in film when filmmakers equate their characters having sex with strangers and babies with passion and/or nihilism? I know the filmmakers didn't use the word "nihilism" in the context of this article, but talkbackers did. And it's a misuse. <p> You know what's funniest of all? That is pretty much the same reaction that Wiseau has about The Room. "PASSION! React to me and my film!" Is this all that independent filmmakers want from an audience any more? "Pay attention to me!" Might as well post on fucking Youtube...

For the sake of keeping it related to the article, let's keep it to indie hits/art films that get talked up. Off the top of my head, here are a few of mine:<p>Funny Games <p>Haute Tension <p>Buffalo 66

seeing how his fat ass hasn't been in a plane since Bush Sr. was in office? See Harry, this is why you have no credibility in any of your posts: you talk like you know shit about shit when it comes to the outside world, but you don't. You see things in a movie, and imagine that's how it must be in real life. That's not real life Harry, that's someone else's version of real life. And why the shit do you spent three paragraphs giving Austin a big wet blowjob when this story could have taken place in *any* city in this country, as long as it had a population of 200 or more, and at least one bar? The movie isn't about you, or Austin, so why do you waste half of the review talking about both instead of the damn movie? Oh, and one last thing: if Nate really did torture animals in his childhood, it would surely come out in his psych eval, after which the CIA would dump him and act like they never heard his name. Covert intelligence is a life or death business, and the CIA couldn't afford to put any kind of responsibility on the shoulders of a person who's motivation came from an emotional/psychological imbalance that went all the way back to their childhood, so right away you're telling me that whomever wrote and directed this steaming pile was just like you, in that they obviously know shit about shit. Get out of your house Harry, get in the car and go see some states other then Texas, because you're living in a cinematic shell, and it's sadder then any crappy portrayal of a bar slut with no motivation for being a bar slut instead of a hooker.

Seriously, dude, lay off with all the "You don't know shit about shit." Harry, in fact, gets out a lot to set visits all over the world, and he's about to hop a plane to Louisville next month for a convention appearance. And here's a truth; Austin IS a pretty awesome place for film and music lovers, and Harry has the ABSOLUTE PERFECT, HAPPY LIFE for a film lover. He should constantly remind his readers and like minded film addicts that Austin is a good place to visit or move to. If I had a good job opportunity or enough money to do whatever I wanted, I'd plop my ass down in Austin tomorrow and be at the Alamo by tomorrow night. Now, true, he might be so successful in his AICN gig that he might not necessarily understand the plight of the average joe that gets up every morning at 5AM and works doing something he doesn't even like 50 hours a week or the plight of the less fortunate who come from fractured families or semi-homeless like characters in this movie, HOWEVER he does understand enough to appreciate how lucky he is. It's true that there is a lot of ugliness and misfortune out there in the world, and films like this reflect some of that. I don't neccessarily enjoy these films because there's enough darkness in my own life and don't find the need to seek any more of it out in entertainment. But from day one on AICN, Harry has been more of a storyteller than a film critic. All his best material has always revolved around his life and Austin, and that's what makes him and his site unique.

I'm delighted that so many talkbackers seem to "get it." </p> I was expecting to click on this talkback, see a bunch of people mock the woman, make "aristocrats" style jokes about horrible things they'd do to her . . . but I think I forgot you folks are real people in exactly the same way the other people in that theatre forgot that woman was a real person.</p> The fact is, when we see somebody get hurt, the natural reaction is to feel bad. When I swing a bat, even if I'm aiming for a baseball, if I hit a real person, I feel bad. I try to see if that person is okay. I put down the bat and see if I can help.</p> Just because her pain was manifest through anger doesn't mean she wasn't hurt. Some of the most painful moments of my life, I've reacted with anger, hostility, and rage. But this film obviously hurt this woman.</p> When I accidently hit somebody with a bat, I expect that the person is going to get mad at me, yell at me, say a bad word or two, and then tell me I'm an idiot who doesn't look where they're swinging. And whether I'm the idiot who didn't look where I was swinging, or she was the idiot who didn't look where she was going, or both, I swung the bat and I'm going to feel bad.</p>Whether she was the idiot who didn't check out what kind of film it was or whether the filmmakers were the idiots who didn't put it out there what kind of film it was, doesn't matter. The fact that the filmmakers want to seem like they're better and superior than people who their movies hurt confirms my belief that these films are made by holier-than-thou types who foist thier shlock with the zeal of religious fanatics, using their tolerance for violence as their "rite of passage" to enjoy their visceral, emotional experiences the same way religious devotees have thier spiritual experiences, and allowing themselves and their viewers to be "chosen ones" who can tolerate it, like religious nuts who play with snakes to show they can.</p> It seems like the guys who make movies like this don't just feel contempt for people who react to their movies like this, they specifically are <i>hoping</i> people will react like this, so they have somebody they can feel superior to.</p> I could be wrong. I don't know these guys. But after reading that story (which, I admit, is a truncated version of events), that's my gut reaction.</p>I guess it would be hard for them to have a woman screaming at them and not get hostile back. It sounds like just a bad experience all around.

First, nearly every single person completely rips Harry apart for Serbian Film, and I quite honestly had no intention of posting a talkback here until, again, I'm witnessing the same thing: no one is buying Harry and his fake love of films anymore.
<P>
"Passion." Really? REALLY? What an awful answer. That is an answer someone gives when he or she is called out, asked to explain, and simply cannot do so. Seriously, what an idiot. Even more odd? If that is the best answer he can give, then it appears it actually worked. The woman sounds like the *ONE* person who 'got' it. No passion from anyone except for her. Seems everyone, including Harry, missed the point of the film. Thankfully there was one woman in the crowd that got it and, you know, had 'passion!'
<P>
PASSION!

I am intrigued.
But Goddammit, Harry, you've left us all dangling. What was the point of the movie? Why did the AIDS girl go around infecting everyone left and right? What was, exactly, the point of the film?
I ain't seeing it anytime soon, man, spoil it for me. Spoil it baby, spoil it all into my fucking beard!!!!
Um...wait, pretend I didn't write that last bit.

For the record.
Why take a dump? PASSION! After a bowl of bran buds and a cup of coffee I fill my fucking throne with passion!
I'm not coming down on a movie I haven't seen, but that has got to be one of the most insulting and condescending things that guy could have said. That bitch might have been a bitch but goddamn it was a reasonable question. How about some fucking honesty? Jesus...

Noah Taylor states the following: "It's a film that I intended to affect people on an emotional level" after the film left a festival go-er crying in distress, " so in that respect it worked." So clearly he set out to have this kind of emotionl impact on the audience, and look how he dealt with it when it happened... a flippant attitude, a fuck you response to a valid question and an affirmation that idiots like this who accept no responsibility for their product need to stay away from movie making altogether.

I cannot recall to many offhand outside of the most recent one being Jessica Alba and Casey Affleck being a little perturbed by that one recent indie they made where she gets beaten half to death. This movie sounds very intriguing even though the part of me that wants to see this, well, liked Hostel 1 and 2. I guess one has to have a kind of negative view of humanity (like myself) to be able to find it kinda easy to make this kind of movie (and PLEASE don't think I'm being overly dismissive of this movie with that statement, or trying to push it into the just plain depressing category). I'll agree with you about how easy it is to make sugary sweet crap like Hannah Montana in a way but trying to make something genuinely uplifting to people in general without it feeling like a Hallmark card is the challenge (in other words, something that is genuinely good and well made without seeming like an easy sell-out, sorry if it feels like I am repeating myself). For me, only 2 movies come to mind that did this and they were Gattaca, Shrink with Kevin Spacey and most recently in a small way for me An Education (mainly for me because I just got tired of school 2 years into college 10 years ago and while this movie did not light a fire under my ass to desperately want to return, it did get my interest a little back in a couple of ways whether it be for positively great reasons or just because I do not want to end up in a way like Peter Sarsgaard's character, not a thief just well better than that).

...that this lady may have relived a horrible childhood (or otherwise)experience watching this film. The producer should have realised that could happen with an audience of this film, I know some WWII vets that couldn't watch Saving Private Ryan. If the producer could have held back on his ego and shown a little more compassion, the outcome could have been a little less nuts.

I've seen Red, White and Blue and it's fucking retarded. Seriously, it's poorly made garbage that tries too hard to shock and awe. The most shocking thing about this movie is how bad the acting, writing and directing are.

I'm sorry Harry, because you must have been pretty wrapped up in the movie to state in your review that no one walked out, when I know I was the 3rd person I saw to walk out. (and yes, it was the same screening)
This film completely disappointed me. The first half was AMAZING. Fantastic and nuanced acting, setting up a really interesting story with interesting characters and lives I really wanted to see unfold. The second half sucked hard core. I mean, it's like the director gave the camera to a first year film student who had only ever watched crappy horror movies and couldn't care less about a plot or character motivations. I don't mind horror movies, but to have such an amazing promise of a movie dangled in front of us and then to put up with the crap that followed, tearing the promise down was too much.
I walked out, probably with about 10 minutes to go, to find that my husband who was seated on the other side of the theater due to seat limitations, had walked out 20 minutes earlier. Someone else on my row also walked out about 15 minutes before I did.
I truly hope that we'll see the main actors in this again... and I'd love to see the same director I saw for the first half of the film actually direct a full movie.

I can't wait for the third part in the series. Maybe Harry will review some kiddie porn he found on the internet or some farm animals being forced into beastiality. You are a great reviewer and a stand up guy! Even a guy from an old Kung Fu movie says your cool, how awesome is that? It'll be a sad day when the police raid your house and Merrick has to take over the site, a truly sad day indeed. Give Tim our best, maybe you guys can be cell mates.

dogshit, then why not Tim League make a movie like this? You'll ALWAYS find some people love this kind of subject. Ask Tim if he wants his next movie to be about Nazis at Dachau bashing babies brains against the wall. I'm sure Tim would find a way to justify it as Entertainment; and "the story must be told!" Oh well, I'll steer clear of this noxious film - Tim, I got passion, know about passion, and don't have to see movies like yours to 'get it.' Real sad that your group has to go through such agony just to know what Passion is. Maybe a good shrink would have helped you find it years ago...

See this is the difference between normal people like me and crazy shits like you. You want to see the garbage described here, because you lead an empty life and need 'passion'. I look forward to seeing Megan Fox as an angel in Passion Play. (Apparently she is very good in it.)

Here is my friend who is the crazy woman: I saw this site and logged in. Made her read everything and respond:
Hi everyone, crazy woman here, ok about Red White and BLAH:
"I CANNOT THANK PEOPLE ENOUGH WHO WERE KIND TO (me) THAT WOMAN! I realized later by reading some of the wild versions people wrote about my response, that my delivery was way too emotional. (BUT it wasn't bc the film MOVED as in the film was so intense and too much for me, IT WAS BECAUSE STANDING UP IN FRONT OF A WHOLE AUDIENCE IS FREAKING SCARY" and so is mustering up the guts to tell a bunch of filmmakers that I felt their using serious themes just to set up a ton of fake blood and long boring torture scenes was IRRESPONSIBLE and LAME. I also, for the record, never said FUCK YOU to them (???). I said, or was trying to say, that there were people in the audience with aids, and cancer, and people who've been fucked by their dads... and that were gulf war vets returning home and that I just wanted to say that those were SERIOUS TOPICS and they used them to just have a big bloody jerk-off fest. (oooo fake blood and torture so "edgy"). and the thing was NOBODY DESCRIBED THIS FILM AS A SLASHER, the description my buddies read to me, made it sound like it was going to be totally different. ( a love story to Austin Tim said) If it was a slasher film well then ok, free to be you and me, have at it, but it wasnt billed that way....All four of my male buddies hated it and wanted to leave but I told them I HAD to respond and I am AMAZED that so many people called me drunk, (NOT A DRINKER) and said fuck you, (NOPE). and crying, (nope) well, in the hall afterwards, after the FOUNDER a very cool guy, said "FUCK YOU GET OUT OF MY THEATRE". The thing is, I wanted to get my question in first so I didnt have to sit through the filmmakers jerking each other off. So I was aggressive saying I wanted to ask my question before they even started. I also wanted to slam that smug attitude by asking "Have you ever been fucked by a relative when you were four" (which was over the top and stupid of me) but It was such a lame ass film using topics like that so carelessly.... and it ASTOUNDS me how people "mis-remembered" my response, its so varied and crazy. And tons of really vicious crap about me (her) and by the way A LOT PEOPLE DID walk out. and remember also that two whole rows were reserved for the actors and friends in this tiny theatre.
To get thrown out was so horrible, and all I saw days later was great reviews, and only saw horrible shit said about "that crazy "bitch" so I cannot thank people enough for taking the time to say other-wise, or to articulate better than me. Or to even be kind about a woman whose "brain exploded". (yeah, maybe I had been molested as a kid, or maybe I DO HAVE AIDS) And for the record I LOVE THE ALAMO and I think the founder is awesome and probably a very cool guy, it was just his buddies who made the film and he loved the film and I didn't create an intelligent discussion type of thing. PS. in some countries an emotional response is a huge compliment, (Jean Cocteau anyone??? Dadists? Especially, if a filmmaker is aiming for PASSION. PS. does every soldier coming home from the gulf wanna slowly torture little kids and just keeeeep on killing and killing (yeah, I do have a personal connection to that one, i'll confess, that cliche pissed me off the most...) and if the 1 in 4 molested MEN and women wanted to give everyone aids, we'd all be dead. ( I also agree with the one response up top that the beginning of the movie was... almost a good movie. Too bad they just used that to gear us up for lame torture you can see on any night in the good old USA where showing a man's butt is considered more scandalous than another raped, sliced diced fucked and chucked broad. Ok, now I've spoken out and believe me Im scared to read how even more people hate me. I will never, ever be that brave again. Tim later wrote a cooler response and I wish I could have re-done the whole thing myself.

HOLEMAN WROTE ...douchebags who regularly attack anyone who produces, directs, stars, writes or reviews anything that even remotely challenges or steps outside their teeny realm of what is 'alright' have nothing to do with film in general. Movies would all be the same, processed, spoon-fed pablum bullshit that we get too fucking much of from Hollywood now. I might not want to see someone fuck a baby to death, but I like that there are people who are constantly pushing the limits of traditional storytelling and still trying to do SOMETHING original. Fuck anyone who thinks different. Go watch fucking "Transformers 3" and shut the fuck up. DUDE, IT WASNT EDGY AND PUSHING ANY LIMITS .... it's been done and done and done and done.

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